pilgrim

American  

[pil-grim, -gruhm] / ˈpɪl grɪm, -grəm /

noun

1. a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion.

   pilgrims to the Holy Land.

2. a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place.

3. an original settler in a region.

4. (initial capital letter) one of the band of Puritans who founded the colony of Plymouth, Mass., in 1620.

5. a newcomer to a region or place, especially to the western U.S.

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pilgrim ¹ British  

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪm /

noun

1. a person who undertakes a journey to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion

2. any wayfarer

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Pilgrim ² British  

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪm /

noun

1. See Canterbury Pilgrims

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Other Word Forms

• pilgrimatic adjective
• pilgrimatical adjective

Etymology

Origin of pilgrim

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pelegrim, pilegrim, cognate with Old Frisian pilegrīm, Middle Low German pelegrīm, Old High German piligrīm, Old Norse pīlagrīmr, all from Medieval Latin pelegrīnus, dissimilated variant of Latin peregrīnus peregrine

Explanation

You might be a Muslim on your way to Mecca, or a Hindu going to the Ganges, or a Christian traveling to Lourdes. When you make a reverent journey to a place you consider sacred, you're a pilgrim. You can also use the word less seriously and call yourself a pilgrim when you make the trip to Graceland for Elvis Week. Another kind of pilgrim (often spelled with a capital P) are the Puritans who fled religious persecution in Europe, came over on the Mayflower, and founded Plymouth Colony, in Massachusetts. The word comes from the Latin peregrinus, "foreign," or "a foreigner," and if you just travel to foreign countries, you’re a pilgrim, too.

Example Sentences

Irshad Ahmed, a 49-year-old pilgrim, told AFP he was staying at a hostel in Tehran when he saw missiles being fired nearby.

From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026

Historians can argue otherwise, but not “convincingly” for this pilgrim.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

One pilgrim in St Peter's Square told me she "loved" the Pope not because he was Pope but because he didn't seem like a Pope.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2025

All of them were to get a cut of the pilgrim income from those who came to pray to the saint.

From Slate • Dec. 15, 2024

Two mannequins sprang to illuminated life, both of them dressed in traditional Thanksgiving pilgrim costumes.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• settler
• traveler